As I mentioned in my post two days ago, I'm getting rid of a *lot* of my stuff to prepare to move! Rather than list on ebay, I started a blog/site thing to list on instead. So far I have 82 listings -- lots of coats and dresses, film books, vhs tapes, oodles of Sinatra books and shoes. I have a whole lot more to list, this is just the beginning. I'll probably be posting every few days for the next month or so. Here's a sample of a few things I have listed, you can click here to see the rest :)

It's pretty obvious that I usually stick to old films; I hardly ever watch anything made after 1975. But for years I've been hearing so much about Amelie, and it seems to be a favorite among people who enjoy the same things I do... so I finally gave it a try last night. And....

I adore it! What a sweet movie! I can completely understand why everyone loves it so much! It's beautifully filmed and has so many quirky touches (the traveling gnome and the chalk arrows were two of my favorite parts) that I think it might be my favorite new film. Not new favorite film, favorite post-1975 film. I love how the movie focuses on strange personality ticks that you know all of us have but we don't really talk about... like the joy that comes with emptying out your purse, reorganizing everything and putting it back inside.

On the Flapper Doodle front, I've decided to stop carrying 8x10 prints in my etsy shop. They'll still be available in my off-etsy store, if anyone wants one, just not on etsy anymore.

Also, I've decided to publish my Silents and Talkies and Grapefruit Chronicles posts solely on this blog. I will no longer be publishing on those blogs anymore. I will, however, still keep my separate blogs for Flapper Doodle, my funny artwork and Dirk Bogarde.

Me and Silents and Talkies have been slowly parting ways since last December when I first thought of calling it quits. I still love blogging about classic film, and I will continue to do it often.. just not on my old blog anymore. I like the idea of starting fresh, and only gathering readers who actually enjoy what I have to say.

I will keep up some of my series - like Celluloid and Canvas, Soundtracks and Song of the Week, but I will be publishing them here now instead.

Lastly, a big change. Me and my family are planning on moving this year (most likely overseas!) and so this week I am beginning a huge effort to downsize my collection of books, clothing and knick-knacks. I'm not sure yet if I'll be posting the stuff on ebay or on a separate blog with a paypal cart, but I'll let you know when it's ready.

I've been pretty sick the last few days, so in order to keep my mind off how terrible I feel, my mom taught me how to embroider! I never thought I'd get the hang of it as quickly as I did, but now I'm really hooked! This is the last one I made yesterday, after I'd really gotten the hang of it.

My mom only had one color of embroidery floss, and I'm too sick to leave the house, so I had to send my dad on an emergency run to the craft store. As evidence that I frequent the craft store a little too much, I drew him an in-depth floor plan of the store so that he'd know where to find the embroidery floss.

Well, back to the embroidery, tissues, cough drops and movies for me. Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!

Day 01 — Your favorite song
Day 02 — Your favorite movie
Day 03 — Your favorite television program
Day 04 — Your favorite bookDay 05 — Your favorite quote
Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 — A photo you took
Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 — A fictional book
Day 14 — A non-fictional book
Day 15 — A fanfic
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — A recipe
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy

I started liking Frank Sinatra's music a little over ten years ago. My parents are fans of alternative - goth - punk rock music, so this was a huge departure from the kind of music I was brought up on, and my little brother thought it was extremely dorky of me to like something so (his words, not mine) old and corny. Well... after a whole DECADE of trying to convert him, I've finally done it! His ipod is finally sprinkled with Sinatra gems, and tonight we spent about two hours going through my extensive itunes collection to find him new favorites. It was seriously one of the happiest moments of my life.

As for my parents, my dad's still not sold but my mom has been known to sneak some Sinatra and Nancy Wilson onto her mix cds every now and then ;-D

While going through my collection I stumbled upon Cycles.. it was always been one of my favorite albums, even though it's usually overlooked when people talk about Sinatra's great albums. My favorite songs from the playlist are Both Sides Now and the title song, Cycles. It has such a sweet, soft sadness and sense of resilience.

So I'm down and so I'm out, but so are many others
So I feel like tryin' to hide my head 'neath these covers
Life is like the seasons after winter comes the spring
So I'll keep this smile awhile, and see what tomorrow brings
I've been told and I believe that life is meant for livin'
And even when my chips are low, there's still some left for givin'
I've been many places maybe not as far as you
So I think I'll stay awhile, and see if some dreams come true
There isn't much that I have learned through all my foolish years
Except that life keeps runnin' in cycles, first there's laughter, then those tears
But I'll keep my head up high although I'm kinda tired
My gal just up and left last week, Friday I got fired
You know it's almost funny, but things can't get worse than now
So I'll keep on tryin' to sing, but please, just don't ask me how

Day 01 — Your favorite song
Day 02 — Your favorite movie
Day 03 — Your favorite television programDay 04 — Your favorite book
Day 05 — Your favorite quote
Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 — A photo you took
Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 — A fictional book
Day 14 — A non-fictional book
Day 15 — A fanfic
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — A recipe
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy

My favorite book, hands down, is Main Street by Sinclair Lewis. I read it for the first time in 2008, when I was called for jury duty. I can remember sitting in the jury room, gasping aloud when one of my favorite characters died. I looked around at all of the strange faces, wishing one of them would ask me if I was reading Main Street... "oh, that's one of my favorite books!" they'd proclaim, and invite me to gush about the main character, Carol Kennicott and share in my heartbreak over the passage I'd just read.

Alas, nobody did that. During my lunch break, I telephoned my mom at work and kept her on the line for my entire break, emotionally describing what I had read in the jury room. From the length of our conversation and from the obvious importance I was giving the subject, one would think I had called her to sob over a break-up, or the death of a loved one! I was very attached to the story and the characters, and way more engrossed than I'd ever been in a book before.

And no book has ever stuck with me like this one; I feel as if the act of reading it was a life experience, something that happened to me that I'll never forget. The funny thing is that Sinclair Lewis isn't actually my favorite author -- that honor belongs to Kurt Vonnegut -- but I feel like Main Street belongs to me in a way that none of Vonnegut's books do.

I think that one needs a certain attitude about provincialism and modernism in order to really 'get' this book. But if you are like me -- from a small, slightly backwards town that doesn't understand you and that you don't understand... with a yearning for something bigger and more important -- this book could be just as powerful for you as it was for me.

Got some new wellies at Target yesterday! I like wearing rain boots all the time, not just when it's pouring outside.. I think they're so fun :)

I've been trying VERY hard lately to polish the rough edges on my sewing skills, so the other day I attempted to make a pillow from an old Frank Sinatra shirt that doesn't fit me anymore. The sewing part actually went very smoothly (no bobbin jams or anything! super!) but I'm not very good at stuffing.. it's kind of lumpy. And my mom needs to teach me how to discreetly hand-sew the part that remains open for stuffing... but other than that, I'm really happy with it! Here's the finished product!

My family and I made a quick trip to Target today to get my brother some new dress pants for a party. Naturally, he walked out with dress pants, and I left with a new trench coat, flats, rainboots (I'll post a photo of them tomorrow, they're super adorable!) socks and cat food. I wish I was able to walk in a store and leave with all my money still in my wallet!

The trench is fantastic, though. I've been scouting for the perfect one for years and finally found it! Since we're moving soon, I'm starting to downsize my closet and I'm sure that adding a new coat means I just need to get rid of one more! :(

Day 01 — Your favorite songDay 02 — Your favorite movie
Day 03 — Your favorite television program
Day 04 — Your favorite book
Day 05 — Your favorite quote
Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 — A photo you took
Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 — A fictional book
Day 14 — A non-fictional book
Day 15 — A fanfic
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — A recipe
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy

I can't help myself.. this one is a tie. I have four favorite movies (and even narrowing it down to four was an enormous challenge!!) Borrowing a Millieism here and making all of them #1.

1. Darling (1965)

1. How to Steal a Million (1966)

1. Meet John Doe (1941)

1. Sullivan's Travels (1941)

VERYVERY close to being my top favorites: The Mind Benders (1963), Dodsworth (1936), Sunday in New York (1963), Hot Enough for June (1964), Accident (1967), Ball of Fire (1941), My Foolish Heart (1950), Hobson's Choice (1954) and The Shootist (1976) (I know, that one is weird for a Kate's favorites list. Surprise surprise!) Of course, these change ALL the time, so if I did this list next year it might be totally different! :D